


In your arms

by mockedtodeath



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mentions of Slavery, Multi, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Post episode 10, critical role - Freeform, depictions of violence, mentions of tiefling related racism, mighty nien detective squad, mini quest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 18:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14062362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mockedtodeath/pseuds/mockedtodeath
Summary: Distrust mixed with mutual feelings is never a good mix.Caleb can't understand what his body wants.Molly just wants to kiss the dirty wizard.Meanwhile, a mysterious group is stalking the nights of Zadash.





	In your arms

**Author's Note:**

> You can blame Taliesin and Liam O'brien's stupid accidental ship-endorsing tendencies for this one.
> 
> Just a short (ish) 'Getting Together' fic to fill time
> 
> Chapter 2 will be up in a few days probably

Flicking his tail, red eyes trained on the tired wizard with a curious gaze. Mollymauk pondered. He spent a lot of time people-watching. He enjoyed his little game, examining their posture, their expressions, deducing how they live their lives based on the way they act, speak, dress… He did it back in the circus. It was a large part of his act after all. Being able to read a person, see what’s hidden behind their eyes. However, he’s found himself doing it more often, possibly due to finding himself around such a fascinating group of people, all with so many little details to conceal. All in a vague attempt to remain as mysterious and ambiguous as possible.

The one exception of the group giggled as she dropped bits of pastry and what looked like pebbles and other small dirty items into an unsuspecting monks drink, who was too enamoured in conversation with Yasha to notice. Alongside the pretty-boy Fjord, who was no doubt having an inner conflict as to whether or not he should inform Beau of the tricksters plot. Molly side-eyed the blue tiefling with a delighted grin as she prepared for the finale of her prank, nudging the goblin girl proudly. Nott stared between the sullied ale and Jester, like this was the cheekiest thing she’d ever been apart of. When she made an attempt to catch Caleb’s attention, the wizard uncharacteristically waved her off, rather than humouring the young goblin as he would usually do. 

Molly raised an eyebrow, elbow propped on the table, fingers curled elegantly across his chin as he leaned on his hand. Caleb was a man who was hard to read in some ways, and extremely easy in others. His face screamed of a man who was physically and emotionally drained from an unknown event in his past. Haunted by something or someone. Stuck in state of existential crisis. The purple tiefling had created quite a few backstories for him in their time together. Was he a lost soldier? A proud general who was supposedly killed in battle, shamed to wander the lands after losing his troops. A father who lost his children, maybe his partner in a terrible accident. Or maybe an attack? Molly absent-mindedly played with a dangling chain from his horns, his eyes still focused on the red-headed man. 

An immediate, tired, look of regret washed over Caleb’s dirtied features, pausing from his book, mid-page turn and threw an apologetic look to his goblin companion. Nott smiled sweetly in return. Sharp, jagged teeth poking out in the most charming way, in Molly’s opinion. He couldn’t help but smile to himself at the exchange. Catching loving glances and gestures was almost as much fun as catching the cheekier ones. 

As if on que, Beau lifted her cup to her lips, tipping her head back with the intent of tossing back the last part of the drink. Molly was treated to the sound of the monk hacking and spluttering the remainder of the tainted ale across the table. Jester threw her hands up in the air, cheering and giggling manically. Nott imitated the action, celebrating before quickly sitting back down, securing her mask over her mouth, worried she brought too much attention to herself. 

“ _F-uUHCKing.. what-.. the shittin- FUCKing-_ JESTER.” Beau let out a strained string of curses as she coughed, her clenched fist over her mouth, other fist still grasping the cup, knuckles near white with tension. Glaring at the cleric, a slight hint of betrayal in her eyes. Jester was in an uncontrollable fit of giggles, her face flushing a darker shade of blue. Yasha patted the monk’s back rather half-heartedly, a few well-placed, firm thuds in the middle of her back before deciding that was enough contact for the day. Standing up with a sigh, Fjord headed over to the bar, probably to ask for a cloth to clean up the mess from their booth. 

Molly clapped his hands together in glee, his long, slender fingers intertwining and coming to a rest on the dry end of the tabletop as his own laughing subsided. 

“Went down the wrong way?” Molly quipped knowingly, only to be given a middle finger from the monk in response. Jesters laughter bounced off the walls, the blue girl lightly covering her own mouth as Fjord returned to the table and began mopping up the mess. 

Molly’s own chuckling was halted when out of the corner of his eyes, he couldn’t help but notice a certain pair of eyes were on him. He tried his best to hide the smirk that was forcing its way onto his face. Caleb may be an expert at hiding his past, but when it came to his ogling, he couldn’t be more obvious. Molly was known for having a cheeky glance here and a bit of a perv there, but at least he was subtle about it, you know... when he cared that he got caught. Personally, Molly felt that being caught staring was a good conversation starter. But at this point, the purple tiefling had run out of fingers to count the amount of times he’s seen the wizard’s eyed search him up and down. Then again, he couldn’t really be certain he has impure intentions. But Molly really liked to think that he does. 

Usually at this point, Molly would have spouted something witty, maybe a little flirtatious to make Caleb blush, but a creeping feeling of what was possibly guilt, slithered its ugly head up his spine. He couldn’t help but get the feeling he made Caleb… uncomfortable. He thought back to after the battle with the white spider, when he caught the wizard stashing away what he had taken off the bodies. He only meant it to be playful banter. An excuse to see him a little startled maybe. It couldn’t even really be considered a warning seeing that Molly didn’t really care what his companions did in their spare time, as long as they weren’t being unnecessarily asshole-ish. But even so, Caleb’s been even less willing to meet his eyes ever since. He thought that maybe he stepped over a line that he shouldn’t have crossed. He could be imagining it yes, but he’d rather apologise for no reason, than leave something potentially harmful unattended to. 

He lazily hung his hand out close to the other man’s face and clicked his fingers, knocking Caleb out of whatever trance he’d put himself into. The wizard blinked and sat up, holding his book with more purpose than he had been previously. 

“Hn? What, what...” his accent coming through more strongly in his slightly startled state. Molly pushed himself up to stand and gestured to the red-headed man. 

“C’mon, lets have a little chat. I’ll buy you a few drinks as compensation for the social interaction.” Molly offered as he waited for the humans’ response. Caleb cleared his throat murmuring some form of agreement and fussed around with his books for a moment, stacking them on the table beside Nott, before standing up, and hesitantly following the grinning tiefling up to the bar. It was a little busy so they had a few moments to wait before anyone could take their order. Molly figured Caleb would prefer to have this kind of conversation away from the prying eyes and ears of their companions anyway. 

“Caleb.” Molly began with his usual jovial tone. “There’s something I’d like to say and I’m going to kindly ask that you don’t say anything until I’ve finished.” 

The wizard blinked in a clear confusion and chose not to respond to the statement. 

Molly beamed “Good start! Alright here we go...” purple hands clapped together and his fingertips found his lips, choosing his words carefully. 

“First off, back in the sewers. I just wanted to apologise to you. I feel that I overstepped a few boundaries and ignored your personal space and for that, I’m sorry.” 

Caleb was visibly quite stunned. Whether it was at Molly’s words or his slightly softer tone, it was hard to tell. Immediately, it looked as though he wanted to speak, but instead, he did as he was told and stayed silent for the moment. 

“I know you aren’t a fan of being… well… touched, and I’m well aware I can get carried away, _and_ sometimes I forget that I can be a little intimidating to those around me. Y’know… being what I am… with a face like mine… regardless of whether it’s my intention or not...” Molly continued, tapping one of his horns for emphasis. He almost felt silly. Apologising for being a tiefling. But he had gotten used to doing it. It made some, humans especially, feel more at ease at the thought that he was just as ashamed of his race and they were horrified of it. 

He and Jester, nor Fjord had run into as much prejudice on this side of the country, and Zadash in particular seems relatively tolerant to other races. At the very least the inhabitants keep their distaste to themselves. But sometimes he just assumed the horns and purple skin are to blame. “…Anyway, what I’m saying is, the last thing I want is for you to feel like I _want_ ya’ to be scared of me or something. We’ll be travelling together for the foreseeable future after all...” He poked his hand up to the bar, rather easily getting the lady barkeeps attention and ordering a few drinks for himself and Caleb, continuing while he fished the appropriate amount of coin out of his purse, adding an extra silver on top. 

“…So my apologies again friend. Of course, I completely understand if you’re still not comfortable, but I certainly feel a hell of a lot better…” Molly threw a smile at the barkeep as she poured the drinks, turning back to Caleb who was slowly shaking his head. 

As Molly’s sentence was coming to a close, Caleb already had his hands raised in a quiet protest. A bewildered expression had slowly been taking over his face over the course of the tieflings apology. Eyebrows furrowed, he stared off to the side, seemingly picking his words carefully. 

“Molly-… No.. No, I…” He started slowly, trying to sound somewhat comforting, but still coming off rather blunt in his bemused state. “I am not afraid of you because you’re a tiefling… Or at all… for that matter. If anything, I’d be afraid of you because you bullshitted a giant spider to death, but not because you have horns and a tail…” 

As relieved as he was to hear that, Molly couldn’t tell if he was surprised or not. The verbal confirmation was admittedly, quite comforting, despite the fact that Caleb’s way with words was anything but soothing. Molly let him continue, grin returning to his face as the older man muttered to himself in Zimmnian, cursing in a slight frustration at not knowing how to continue. After a short pause, Caleb spoke up once more, staring at a space between himself and Molly’s chest. “I…judge people, based on their actions. _Who_ they are. Not _what_ they are.” The wizards voice was still quiet but somehow sounded much firmer, like you could tell this was something he was passionate about. Something he didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings about. “So far Mollymauk… you’ve done nothing to suggest you are anything more than a kind… loving…generous person who merely wants the best for the people around him.” 

Even though Caleb refused to make eye contact as he spoke, hands vaguely gesturing, Molly was the opposite. Grin faded once again, staring right at the wizard, expression softening as the seconds dragged on. Caleb pursed his lips, fidgeting with the collar of his coat and Molly nodded very slowly, his turn to be baffled. 

“…Is that so…” he spoke too softly for anyone but Caleb to hear. Not intentionally, but almost as if the words escaped his lips without his permission, like he was talking in his sleep. Caleb gave a short, affirming nod in response, now simply just staring off to the side, biting the inside of his lip. Molly wasn’t speechless. It was more that there were so many things he _wanted_ to say, he just couldn’t pick which one. He was so lost in his own head that he completely missed the last of Caleb’s murmurings. He blinked a few times, tapping the edge of the bar with his fingertip. 

“Ah-…Sorry, what was that?” Molly asked with a hint of a grin. Trying to regain a bit of his usual self. 

Caleb had practically turned around at this point, he wasn’t even facing Molly anymore. But it didn’t stop him from being able to catch the repeat. 

“I said… there’s nothing wrong with your face either. It’s… a very nice face.” He waved his hand dismissively, sort of in Molly’s direction, but not really. 

What can only be described as a shock of giddy joy ran up the tieflings spine. A part of him wanted to get him to say it again but Caleb might actually implode from the pressure. With an opportune throat clear and a laugh, Molly handed Caleb two drinks with a nod, grabbing his own “I’ll drink to that! Shall we?” he gestured back to their booth with as much of a bow and flourish he could manage with a drink in each hand, and Caleb quickly darted back to his seat, making an impressive head way on one of the drinks by the time Molly sat down. When Jester commented on Caleb’s flushed face, he blamed it on the alcohol. Beau gave him a suspicious look but didn’t seem to care enough to actually pester him about it. 

The night went on, everyone heading up to bed at different stages over the next few hours. Caleb went first, mumbling about bringing Frumpkin back, bitching about the guard who kicked him, followed by Jester and Beau. 

“I’ll be up to join you soon~” Molly purred as Fjord went to retire to the room they shared. The half orc waved him off with a tired chuckle, missing the wink the purple man threw his way. Then Nott, once she realized she was left alone with Molly and Yasha, quickly went to scurry away. He’s pretty sure she isn’t afraid of them anymore but its fair enough if she doesn’t know how to talk to them yet. Molly waved to the little goblin and she hesitantly waved back, scampering upstairs. 

Stretching his arms above his head, feeling a satisfying _crack_ from his shoulders, Molly tuned in to Yashas’ gentle voice, as she sipped on her last drink of the night. “So… you’re having fun.” She stated plainly, her eyes following a group of men who had just entered, making sure to glare at any of the ones who paid too much attention to her or her friend. 

Molly grinned at the ceiling, a glint in his eyes “Oh I’m having the _best_ time. You would be too if you stuck around-” 

He didn’t even have a chance to finish before Yasha’s large pale fist dropped heavily onto his exposed stomach. He groaned at the sudden impact as the air was forced out of him. He leaned over to protect his gut, playfully side-eyeing his companion, her usual stoic expression replaced by a hint of a smirk. 

“You _know_ why I have to leave.” She retorted, bringing a laugh out of the tiefling. He sat up, concealing his stomach from another attack. “Yes, yes _I know..._ Doesn’t mean I don’t miss having you around.” 

Yasha returned to her drink, speaking into the cup. “You seem to be coping just fine. Although I can’t quite tell if you have you eyes on Jester, Fjord or Caleb.” 

“Can’t it be all three?” 

“I think you’re the only one who’d be ok with that.” 

Molly shrugged, sighing “I can’t help it if I have all this love to give and so many people I want to give it to.” 

As much fun as all the flirting is, He only _really_ has his eye on Caleb, but nobody had to know that yet. He wasn’t even really sure why. There’s just something so intriguing about the wizard and Molly figured if he peeled off a few layers -literally-, he might be able to get to that soft vulnerable centre. -again, literally-. Molly’s always been pretty good at identifying his emotions and yes, Fjord and Jester are both attractive and interesting in their own ways, but he didn’t have the same urges he felt around that shaggy human. Not that he could properly explain it, not even to Yasha. He made eye contact with the fallen angel, a hint of suspicion present in her eyes. 

Besides, she’ll no doubt figure it out on her own. 

With a short scoff, smile still in place, Yasha took that as her que to go to bed. Molly stared at her in mock betrayal as she stood up, grabbing her sword. “So you’re just going to leave me to drink by myself? Unforgivable.” 

Ignoring the accusation, she lovingly pet the mop of purple hair “Goodnight Molly.” the long, slow, _heavy_ footsteps of the barbarian faded away, up the stairs. Smiling at her as she walked away, Molly let his head fall over the back of the rough, borderline splintery wooden seat, just now beginning to feel the effects of the ale he’d been drinking all night. It did a good job at blurring the pain in his joints from the days activities. Ordering another drink, feeling delightfully buzzed, he let his mind wander. He thought back to Caleb’s words earlier. He was truly unlike any human he’d ever met before. Molly wanted to know more about him. If only his lips weren’t shut as tight as a dead ocean clam. 

Another drink down and not wanting to be _that person_ alone and sloppily drunk in a bar, Molly made the executive decision to go and get some sleep before the rest of his drinks settled in. Although making the move to stand up was one that took more effort than he originally intended. Swaying a marginal amount as he planted his feet on the ground to the side of the chair, he giggled to himself, taking a moment to regain some sense of grace in his movements. It was at that moment he got the unmistakable feeling of eyes on him. He was rather used it considering it was mostly every day. 

He lifted his head to see the group of men who had walked in shortly after Nott had gone to bed. Most of them appeared human or half-elf judging by their shapes, but since almost all of them had hoods and scarves covering their features, it was hard to tell. It was late, so most of the other patrons had left for the night, with the exception of a drunk old man on the other end, slumped over his table. A young barkeep was quickly gathering cups, making a note to avoid the large group of hooded figured and the ostentatiously dressed purple tielfing. However Molly, feeling particularly mischievous, jauntily waved at the ones who were very obviously looking at him. “Hello boys~ and girls? Genderless compatriots?” fangs showing through his wide grin, more of the masked persons turned to look in his direction. One thing Molly managed to notice in his semi-drunken state was that none of them had ordered drinks, had a deck of cards, dice or anything. They were just sitting there, watching. A twinge of distrust at this situation hit him instantly, but what was the harm in ruffling a few feathers. 

“If you insist on staring at me, at least let me pay you to paint a portrait. This is my good side.” He gestured at himself and one of the men shifted slightly in his seat. “Be careful who you toy with _devil_.” A low, grumbling voice spat “You may not enjoy the outcome.” A grisly smirk appeared from under the hood, just visible through the dimly lit tavern. Eyebrow raised, elbow rested on the back of his chair, Molly tipped his head to the side, a thousand worthy quips at the tip of his tongue. Somewhere deep down, sober Molly was telling him to leave these fools to their business and go join his handsome green roommate, but tipsy Molly had more fun planned. 

He pouted his lips in the most condescending way, a silky, smooth _dangerous_ laugh followed by his words “ _Ah… how cute. **The human thinks he’s scary.**_

His honeyed voice turned vicious in an instant, dragging into the infernal tongue. If it’s a devil he wants, it’s a devil he’ll get. 

The man in question seized of all movement, fingernails digging into the wooden tabletop, completely helpless under his spell as the tiefling held a hand out lazily in his direction, pointing a clawed finger into his soul. One of the others stood, striding towards Molly. If he were at his full focus, disarming him would have been childs play. But considering he was about 8 tankards in, his reflexes were off by quite a bit. In fact, Molly didn’t even bother breaking his attention from the trembling human as the larger man unsheathed his short blade, and held it at Molly’s neck, just over the flowing peacock tattoo. 

“Fucking _demon_ ” the new challenger spat, drawing a laugh from the tiefling. 

“Your turn will come soon darlin’, there’s no need to be jealous.” A smile hiding his true intentions was all his expression held, but he did start to notice his head growing considerably heavier in the passing minutes. Even so, the spell took its full effect, and the man slumped off his chair, blood dripping from his mouth and collapsed, coughing at his comrade’s feet. 

His devilish chuckle was cut off when he felt his own body sway dangerously close to the sword against his neck. He was just now starting to feel the pressure of the situation. 

_”Oh piss.”_ Molly muttered to himself, as the blur in his vision became all the more evident, the last thing he has a clear sight on being a curious symbol on the man’s armor. His new friend seemed to be too infuriated to pay attention. Pulling back his blade, preparing to thrust it forward right through the peacock. 

“Fuck this.” The man scowled. “You’ll be worth plenty dea-” 

One arm outstretched against the edge of the table to keep himself balanced, Molly raised his head to the man frozen in front of him, blade ready to strike, with an even bigger blade pointed at his face. 

“I’d put that away before you hurt yourself.” 

The man before him went from semi-threatening, to blabbering mess at the drop of a hat, looking close to wetting himself out of fear. Tip of the blade, pressed against his shallow cheeks, a tiny trail of blood travelling down the metal edge. 

“This is your chance to go home. It’s the only one you’re going to get.” The same voice warned, taking a slow, heavy step forward. Molly swayed in his seat, trying and failing to focus on the scene taking place, instead choosing to put his effort into remaining upright. The owner of the familiar voice got the masked man to back up with a leisurely amount of force, placing themselves in between Molly and the gang of anonymous persons. It wasn’t much longer before the clanging of the bell on the tavern door sounded out in the quiet of the night. 

“My hero~” Molly dragged his eyes up to the long, black to white hair and she turned in place, sheathing her sword. 

“You’re a nightmare.” 

“Well _I_ must be dreaming since I swear I can see an _angel~_ ” 

With a deep exhale, Yasha effortlessly wrapped an arm around Molly’s frame and pulled him to his feet, holding him upright as he slumped forward against her, a giggle escaping his lips. 

“What… are _you_ … still doin’ up?” his speech growing more slurred now his brain had to concentrate on standing as well as speaking. 

“Well first I took a shit...” 

“Charming~” 

“…Then as I was washing up, I thought to myself. ‘How likely is it Molly is going to get drunk, make an ass of himself and wake up under a table covered in his own vomit?’” 

“That’s a very specific series of events.” 

“Yes, it’s almost as if it happens frequently or something.” 

“I don’t believe it for a se- _HIC_...second.” 

The barbarian hummed in a humouring fashion, half carrying, half dragging the tiefling up the stairs as he decided he didn’t want to walk at inconvenient moments. His singing, mixed with his stumbling was easily enough to rouse anyone who wasn’t in a deep stage of sleep. 

\-- 

Caleb’s face hit the pillow with a _thud_. A heavy sigh leaving him as he felt his aching muscles relax for the first time all day. 

“ _gutter Gott,_ that was fucking humiliating…” he cursed to himself, feeling utterly drained in more ways than one. He groaned as Molly’s words echoed in his mind. All that nonsense about being frightening and thinking that he had hurt Caleb in some way, all because Caleb doesn’t know how to properly convey emotions. He thought back to the sewers… the moment his back hit the wall, with Molly mere inches away. He remembered the shudder that ran up his back as Molly spoke so close to his face he could feel his breath. He remembered the shock he felt on everywhere Molly even just _brushed_ by accident. How his eyes felt like they were burning his skin from such a close proximity. He didn’t even blame Molly for misunderstanding his intentions. Caleb’s a shady guy and he does shady things. He’s well aware of that. What he couldn’t believe was that somehow, the tarot card-reading tiefling mistook fear for the unrelenting attraction Caleb felt for the other man. 

He couldn’t help it. Every witty quip followed by a grin, every affectionate gesture, every smirk and a wink… all of it drove him insane. Even when it wasn’t aimed at him. Even when he was playfully chatting with Jester or Nott, or flirting with Fjord, Yasha or anyone else, the wizard could never stop the fire that lit in his chest whenever the tiefling grinned wide enough to show his fangs. 

He was so ridiculously confusing, in every way, ever since the day they met. So relaxed and seemingly uncaring about everything, and yet when it came down to it, whenever courtesy was necessary. He was so considerate. Going out of his way to be so annoyingly warm and kind-hearted. Kissing his forehead to comfort him at his most vulnerable… 

Caleb let out another groan, lifting his head just enough to let it drop back down with another _thud_. 

But the thing is. Caleb _doesn’t trust_ Molly. He trusts Molly the least out of everyone, and for good reason. The man is a walking talking rainbow, hiding behind every reflection of light he can find or make himself. So as a man who prides himself on calculating the risk of every scenario, keeping a keen eye and mind on every situation, what Caleb couldn’t fathom is why his body decided what it really needed was the technicoloured tiefling. 

Not to say he was lying when he spoke to Molly before. Caleb genuinely believes that Molly cares for this rag-tag group of misfits. But unlike some of his other companions, Caleb understands that having someone agree with your morals doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a good person. There are shades of grey in every living person, and Mollymauk is a colourful smattering of contradictions who places himself under any label he sees fit at the time. 

Ever since he first noticed this attraction -despite how hard he tried to crush it with his bare hands and repress it- he’s been trying to figure out how to deal with it. He had considered the possibility that Molly was just flirting for fun. It was a reasonable thing to assume. Someone so beautiful, elegant and sociable genuinely choosing a dirty, shaggy human over literally anyone else. It made sense. Caleb knew that wasn’t true though. A part of him wanted it to be so he could move on and forget but that simply wasn’t the case. Despite all of Molly’s bullshit and riddles, Caleb was perceptive enough to see the sincerity behind his red eyes when they were alone. His naturally seductive mannerisms and lingering gazes that made the wizards skin spark. He didn’t understand it, but it was as clear as day that there was truth behind Molly’s more romantic gestures. 

The questions was… Did Molly just want a few nights of fun? Someone to go to after a tough day to unwind? or did he want something more meaningful? What did Caleb want? Was he really so touch-starved he was considering some kind of purely physical relationship with a man he barely even knew, let alone trusted? 

The longer he laid there, the more he concluded that he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do and he would have to suck it up and properly talk to Molly eventually. Otherwise he might actually combust from the built-up pressure. 

He wasn’t sure how long he was lying there for before the pitter patter of Nott’s feet came gingerly inching up to the bed behind him. She was silent for a few moments until her raspy little voice spoke up. “Did… you bring back Frumpkin yet?” she asked meekly, no doubt peeking around the room. 

“No… not yet… I’ll start in a minute…” although his words were muffled by the pillow, Nott’s large ears still picked up what was said. The bed creaked as Nott climbed up beside him. Without even looking at her, he knew that same worried expression was pointed right at him. 

“Are you alright Caleb? That spider didn’t get you did it?” her tone grew panicked and Caleb was forced to push himself up and roll over, immediately being met with two big yellow eyes. He shook his head, exhaling deeply. “No, no Nott. I’m fine. Physically anyway…” 

Nott nodded slowly, even though she didn’t know the context on his final statement. Caleb really didn’t want to explain it. He didn’t even want to acknowledge this whole series of events. It was too painful for his weak heart to handle. 

He achingly lifted himself off the bed and eased himself down onto the floor, tiredly fumbling around in his bag and pockets for the ingredients he needed. Nott, knowing how long it this specific spell takes to complete, cuddled herself into the blankets, not willing to fall asleep, but keeping a watchful eye over Caleb as he worked. 

Caleb found it somewhat difficult to concentrate, his mind infested with intrusive thoughts. Molly being the star of a great deal of them. After a few failed attempts, pausing and starting again, he eventually gathered his mojo, envisioning his darling little familiar in his mind. 

To his dismay, a fair way into the ritual, his concentration was interrupted by a string of stumbling noises in the hall. Scowling, the wizard stood up and listened for the cause of the noise. _Some drunken idiot no doubt…_ he thought to himself. He glanced towards to bed to see Nott sleeping soundly, curled into a tight little ball. He moved quietly to the door to investigate the ruckus, only to find Yasha passing Molly over to a weary looking Fjord, who threw an apologetic look in his direction. 

“Ah, Sorry partner. Didn’t mean ta’ wake ya’.” He said just loud enough for Caleb to hear, catching Molly with a grunt as the tiefling chuckled, looking at Fjord with a devious expression. Yasha made him look lighter than he actually is. Caleb narrowed his eyes in exhaustion at the scene. _Well I wasn’t technically wrong…_

“I got him, I got him…just… _urk_ ” He grunted again, adjusting his hold on Molly, who was mumbling something about Fjord’s ‘big, beautiful arms’. “You two go back to bed, no worries here.” Despite his words, the strain was evident in his voice. Realizing her mistake, with one smooth action, Yasha pulled the tiefling upright then up into her arms, gazing passed the half-orc into the room, deciding where to drop him. Fjord looked a little embarrassed but ultimately grateful she decided to take over. He side-stepped, allowing Yasha to saunter into the room and drop Moly on his side of the bed. 

“Heh..uh, thanks Yasha.” Fjord said rather bashfully and the barbarian just nodded, yawning into her fist and wordlessly leaving the room. Once she had disappeared down the end of the hallway, Caleb strolled over to the doorway and peered in. Fjord had just pulled off one of Molly’s impractically long, leather boots and placed it down beside the bed, visibly exhausted after doing so. They’re sexy boots… _incredibly_ sexy. Especially on Molly’s slender figure. But that doesn’t stop them from being unnecessarily long in Caleb’s opinion. The wizard tried not to let his gaze linger too long on the shape of the tieflings legs. 

“Fjord you _naughty_ boy… “ Molly purred, lifting his leg and poking him gently in the chest with his now bare foot. "If you wanted me naked, all you have to do is ask~". 

The half orc was still trying to lever off the other of the pair of inconvenient footwear “Just your boots Molly, don’t get too excited… There! Finally…” Fjord stumbled back slightly as the second boot gave way, then dumped it down next to the other. Since Caleb was still up, Fjord asked for his assistance in getting Molly _actually_ into the bed. Fjord lifted his legs so Caleb could pull the blanket out from underneath him, then draped it over him, all the while Molly made several inappropriate jokes about the two of them. As they did, Fjord filled the wizard in on what Yasha had told him. 

“He said what?” Caleb asked for clarification, as Fjord shrugged off his new armor. 

“ _’You’ll be worth plenty dead.’_ , or at least that’s what Yasha heard.” Fjord put his belongings in a pile and sat down on the other end of the bed. “I’m just glad she showed up when she did and got rid of those creeps…” he added, glancing back at Molly, who was singing to himself, kicking a leg out from under the covers. Caleb hummed in agreement, taking a few moments to consider the possibilities. “If anything, we should investigate to see if anyone knows anything about these people.” 

“Absolutely.” Fjord nodded, “First thing tomorrow. We’ll figure it out.” 

Caleb said his goodnight’s as he began to leave for his room. Molly piping up all of a sudden. “You don’t _need_ to leave Caleb~ There’s plenty of room here if we cuddle.” The alcohol in his system did nothing to ruin the silky, smooth flow of his voice. The wizard felt a lump in his throat. 

“You two can do that on your own time. I need some sleep before my detective skills are needed tomorrow mornin’.” Fjord eased himself down onto the bed, clearly still feeling the pain from the poison damage that Jester couldn’t completely heal. Caleb felt his face grow warmer at Fjord’s comment but shook it off as best as he could. Molly sighed, mumbling something that sounded akin to “Ok Dad” earning him a glare from the half orc. 

As Caleb made the move to leave again, Molly called out one last time. 

“Not even a goodnight kiss?” 

When Caleb whipped his head around one last time, Molly was grinning, his leg hanging off the side of the bed. That was certainly a tempting suggestion. 

He thought about it for a few seconds longer than he should have and turned around again, facing the doorway. “Another time maybe.” 

Hearing an amused sound from Fjord, he left the room feeling pretty proud of himself on one side, but also left marginally concerned about the ordeal down in the tavern. Regardless, it can wait until morning. Slowly making his way back into his room and settling back down, the only ambient noise being the gentle snoring from Nott. Caleb worked through his spell, eager to see Frumpkin again. 

\- 

The following morning, awakening with a slight shock, Caleb rubbed his eyes, blinking away the sleep. He wanted to get up earlier and head back to Pumat Sol’s for more supplies before everyone else woke up, but as per usual, his body didn’t do what he wanted it to do. Sluggishly rising from the hard mattress, he spotted the little green figure seated on the floor by the bed, flicking around a piece of string for Frumpkin. Slowly setting his feet on the ground, seated on the edge of the bed, he rubbed his face “I’ve told you that you don’t have to wait for me to wake up Nott.” His voice low and coarse from just waking up. 

She shrugged, reaching out a green hand and very gently scratching the top of the cats head. “But I like to eat breakfast with you.” Her meek explanation was plenty enough to pull a smile from Caleb’s drowsy state, standing up, holding out a hand for her to take, directing Frumpkin to get on his shoulders. “Well I’m up now. C’mon. You must be hungry.” 

Upon making it downstairs, the rest of their party were all seated around the same booth that they had ‘claimed’ for the time they plan to stay here, with the exception of Molly, who was standing at the head of the table. The tiefling man swivelled around as he heard the distinct sound of Nott’s scampering, his long coat swishing elegantly. Caleb slowed his steps in slight disbelief. Tiefling’s must have some sort of heightened tolerance because he should not be standing up looking so pretty and well rested after getting as hammered as he did last night. Once Molly saw the two of them, he waved down the waitress he had just sent off. “Another platter here! Make it a big one!” He called after the stocky human woman who waved in acknowledgment over her shoulder. A few minutes later, the same woman reappeared carrying one of the biggest plates the wizard had seen in his life and placed it right in front of him and Nott. An assortment of meats, cheeses, bread, fruits, vegetables as well as what looked like sauces or dips was neatly arranged across the giant plate. Caleb moved his almost suspicious gaze to Molly, who bowed shortly. 

“Call it a ‘Thank you’ for dealing with my drunken ass last night.” He spoke with a grin, gesturing for Caleb to tuck in. The wizard blinked, scratching his neck “Uh, it’s not necessar-“ he stopped once he noticed Nott, who was vibrating beside him. She looked to Caleb for permission and Caleb sighed, nodding tiredly. Nott made some kind of hurried thankful gesture to Molly before removing her mask and digging into the meats. Looking at the table, Caleb saw that Fjord and Yasha were given the same treatment, with Jester and Beau taking what they wanted from each of them. After taking an assortment of things off the platter and moving it onto a separate plate, Caleb idly ate while listening to another one of Molly and Beau’s disagreements. 

“You seriously think I wouldn’t have helped? How many times have I saved your life.” Beau leaned across the table towards where Molly was stood. He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Please! if it were up to you, you would have helped them leave me in a ditch.” He accused with a smirk. Caleb had a hard time telling if that remark was playful or genuine. Beau narrowed her eyes, twisting her lips. “Well if you get piss drunk by yourself then maybe you deserve it!” 

“Ah! Ya’ see? That, right there, is why you didn’t get your own platter.” He pointed at her, Beau only responding putting up a middle finger, the action that was quickly returned by Molly. The rest of the group side-eyed the two of them, now flipping each other off with both hands from either side of the table as Fjord turned to Yasha. 

“You don’t happen to remember anything specific about those folk from last night do ya’?” The half orc asked, subtly shoving his plate a little closer to Jester. Yasha considered her answer for a minute, biting into the full, layered sandwich she had created out of what was on the platter. “They had some kind of…badge… or emblem…? Didn’t get a good look at it though. I’d know it if I saw it again probably.” She moved the contents of her mouth to her cheek as she answered. “So they were some kind of gang?” Jester piped up with a joyous expression. Fjord opened his mouth to respond but was immediately cut off. “WE should have a gang symbol too! Wouldn’t that be great?” The blue tiefling started to scribble in her book. 

“Well we aren’t really a ‘gang’ Jester…” Fjord eventually said with a short chuckle, leaning over to take a look at her drawings. His face instantly flushed and sat back up straight, clearing his throat into his fist. Caleb leaned forward slightly to peek at the cramped drawings on the open page. She had drawn a picture of a spider, a few guards, one of Pumat Sol, and in the centre of the page, was a headshot of what was clearly Fjord, smiling with hearts circling his head. Caleb sat back and shook his head slowly, returning to his food, listening to Fjord attempting to bet back on topic. 

“ _Ahem,_ Well, we should look into this. We might be able to organise some kind of reward for taking em’ down.” Everyone’s heads snapped to him as they heard the word ‘reward’ and as much as Caleb hated to admit it, he could see the benefit in finding these people. There’s no doubt many rich people who would happily set a price for a dangerous group of people to be removed from a city like this one. But he couldn’t help but get the feeling there was more going on here. There must have been a reason why Molly specifically took their interest. 

Glancing at the purple tiefling out of the corner of his eyes, who was now seated beside Jester, admiring her art, Caleb took a deep breath and began planning his next move.


End file.
